Genesis 12:10-13 Now there was a famine in the land. So Abram went
down to Egypt to sojourn there, for the famine was severe in the land. (11)
When he was about to enter Egypt, he said to Sarai his wife, "I know that you
are a woman beautiful in appearance, (12) and when the Egyptians see you, they
will say, 'This is his wife.' Then they will kill me, but they will let you
live. (13) Say you are my sister, that it may go well with me because of you,
and that my life may be spared for your sake."
On Monday it was mentioned that we could see in Abram’s life the blessings
and rewards of trusting God, and the results and consequences of doubting God
and relying on ourselves instead. These verses illustrates this very point.
Abram and Sarai travel to Egypt out of necessity, there is a great famine and
they travel to Egypt to seek food and relief. Abram fears for his life on
account of his wife, for she was beautiful in appearance. This statement is
quite astounding for not only it is proved true when Sarai is taken by Pharaoh
because he saw that she was beautiful, but we must also consider the fact that
Sarai was not a young woman in her early twenties! She was in her late sixties,
maybe even in her seventies!
When Abram and Sarai made the decision to travel down to Egypt, knowing
that Sarai was a woman of exceptional beauty and would thus draw the attention
of Pharaoh, they had a choice to make. Would they trust God to protect them or
would they take matters into their own hands? Sadly, they took the path of
doubting God and self-reliance. The result, what they feared most came to pass,
Sarai was taken by Pharaoh. Despite Abram and Sarai’s lack of faith and trust,
God doesn’t forsake them, He still shows Himself to be faithful and true to His
promises and intervenes, rescuing them both. It comes at a cost, both to
Pharaoh, his household and to Abram. Pharaoh and his household are afflicted
with plagues and Abram is revealed to have been deceptive and his lies are
exposed.
God is revealed as being both just and faithful. The sinful actions of men
are exposed and dealt with, but in the midst of that sinfulness God remains
faithful, even gracious in sparing Abram and Sarai the full potential
consequences of their deceit, doubt and lack of trust in Him. We face many
similar situations whereby we are presented with to choice to either trust God,
or take matters in to our own hands. We can know that when we do choose to take
matters into our own hands and as a result wander in sin, God will deal with the
sin, it will be exposed and we will be called to account. In His grace, He
doesn’t abandon us, but remains faithful, thus as He exposes our sin and calls
us to account, He also holds forth His grace and faithfulness, urging us back to
repentance and trust in Him.
Merciful Father, thank You that You are a faithful and enduring God. We
acknowledge that so often we take matters into our own hands, many times with
disastrous results. We are filled with thankfulness that You intervene and on
occasions the results of our sinful actions are not as severe as they could be.
We praise You that that in these times You remain faithful and true to Your
promises and to us, prompting us by Your Holy Spirit to repentance and to return
to trusting You. Help us today when we face various choices and decisions to
demonstrate that we trust You and desire to follow Your will and Your Word.
Amen.
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